Choosing a
quality
education and
care service:
Information for families
Introduction
As a parent or family member, you care about the safety, wellbeing and development of your children. That
includes times when they are being educated and cared for by others.
Finding the right education and care service to suit your child’s needs and those of your family is important. This
guide explains what to look for in a quality education and care service and what to do if you have any concerns
that a service is not meeting its obligations.
Services for children are often subject to laws and regulations that prescribe how education and care must be
provided to children. Generally the more formal types of care arrangements are regulated to ensure children are
protected from harm and that their opportunities for learning and development are maximised. Parents and
guardians often make informal arrangements for someone else to care for their children. These sorts of informal
care arrangements generally do not need to be approved or licensed. The more formal arrangements do.
Contents

What is a quality education and care service?

Visiting education and care services

How can I be sure that a service is meeting the required standards?

How will I know if a service is approved or licensed?

When you’re not sure whether a particular service should be approved or licensed

Further information
What is a quality education and care service?
Quality education and care services are those that meet the educational and developmental needs of individual
children, while at the same time providing for the needs of their families.
The National Quality Standard for education and care services reflects what the international research says about
quality education and care. The National Quality Standard requires that:

the educational program and practice is stimulating, engaging and enhances children’s learning and
development

every child’s health and wellbeing is safeguarded and promoted

the physical environment is safe, suitable and provides a rich and diverse range of experiences

staffing arrangements create a safe and predictable environment for children and support warm,
respectful relationships

relationships with children are responsive, respectful and promote children’s sense of security and
belonging

respectful, supportive relationships with families are developed and maintained

effective leadership contributes to sustained quality relationships and environments that facilitate
children’s learning and development.
Education and care services include:

long day care services

preschools (kindergarten)

family day care services

outside school hours care services.
Visiting education and care services
Visiting the service is a great way to check for quality. It gives you the chance to see the service and observe the
educators and children first hand. A visit also gives you the chance to ask questions.
When you visit, you may wish to focus on the room your child will be placed in upon enrolment.
On first entering a service or family day care residence you may notice a particular atmosphere, e.g. inviting/cold,
relaxed/frantic, or happy/tense. You should expect educators to make you feel welcome and interact warmly with
your child and with you.
Children who feel secure and content in a service will generally be engaged in their activities and relate freely
and positively with educators and other children.
The service should be safe and comfortable – inside and outside. Children should have a choice of fun,
interesting and challenging activities and choices for both quiet and active play.
Education and care services need a service approval. This service approval should be visible from the main
entrance of the service.
Things to consider

Do the educators make your child and you feel welcome?

Are educators warm, responsive and respectful in their interactions with children?

Are the children you see engaged in the educational program?

Are the children supervised at all times? Are they supervised in a way that suits their age and
development?

Do educators interact positively with other educators and parents?

Is the educational program run both inside and outside? Is there a balance of indoor and outdoor play?

Is this a safe environment for children to play, learn and develop? Is the service clean and well
maintained?

Are there opportunities for children to play in groups and alone?

Are there spaces for children to be involved active, noisy play as well as space for quiet play?

Is there enough equipment for the children at the service?

Is important information displayed including the service approval?
What questions should I ask when I visit?
Educators should be happy to talk to you about how they provide quality education and care for children.
As well, they will be happy to discuss the role of the National Quality Framework, including the requirements of
the Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 (National Law) and the Education and Care Services
Regulations 2011 (National Regulations) and how they meet them.
You may like to ask:
•
How does the program meet the different needs of each child? How will the service meet your child’s
needs? This is an opportunity to outline any needs, interests and experiences particular to your child
and family.
•
How will the service meet my child’s additional needs? (If your child has any additional needs.)
•
Which room/group will my child be in (if accepted at the service)? How many children are in that
room/group? How old are they? How many educators work with them?
•
Will the same educators consistently care for my child?
•
What qualifications do educators have? (Educators may be degree-qualified early childhood teachers,
diploma-qualified educators or certificate III level educators.)
•
How will my child be assisted to settle into the service? What happens if my child becomes unwell,
upset or unsettled?
•
Can parents be involved? In what ways? Am I welcome to visit at any time of the day? Can I stay to
share my child’s activities?
•
What are the arrangements for providing food and drink for children? What are the sleeping
arrangements for children?
•
What are the arrangements for administering medication and the management of medical conditions (if
your child has specific medical needs)?
•
How will any concerns about my child be addressed?
How can I be sure that a service is meeting the required standards?
Services operating under the National Quality Framework (preschools/kindergartens, long day care, outside
school hours care and family day care services) must meet the requirements of the National Law and National
Quality Framework. In addition, the National Quality Framework also includes an assessment and rating system,
which assesses education and care services against the National Quality Standard.
The Regulatory Authority
The Regulatory Authority is responsible for monitoring education and care services and ensuring that they meet
the requirements of the National Regulations. The Regulatory Authority is also responsible for investigating
notifications of serious incidents and complaints and undertaking the assessment and rating of services.
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is the Regulatory Authority for Victoria.
If it is identified that a service is operating in a way that places the safety, health and wellbeing of children at risk
the Department will work with the service to resolve the relevant issues immediately. The Department also
publishes details of enforcement actions on the Regulation and Quality Assessment section of the Department’s
website www.education.vic.gov.au.
Making a complaint
Parents and families are well placed to observe what is happening in education and care services. If you have a
concern that the safety, health and wellbeing of children has been compromised, or if you believe the relevant
legislation has been contravened, you should make a complaint to a children’s services authorised officer at the
relevant regional office of the Department.
All complaints made to the Department are investigated.
Assessment and rating of services
Education and care services are assessed and rated against the National Quality Standard. Following an
assessment visit, services will receive one of the following overall ratings:
•
Exceeding the National Quality Standard
•
Meeting the National Quality Standard
•
Working Towards the National Quality Standard
•
Significant Improvement Required
Services must meet each element of the National Quality Standard for 18 standards (58 elements in total) in
order to receive a rating of Meeting National Quality Standard. As a result, services may take time to achieve this
rating.
Because 58 elements must be met in order to achieve a rating of Meeting the National Quality Standard,
education and care services performing well across a number of quality areas may receive a rating of Working
Towards National Quality Standard, while the highest rating to be given by a Regulatory Authority, Exceeding
National Quality Standard, may be earned by a small number of services.
Services that achieve that rating will be able to apply to ACECQA to be considered for a rating of Excellent. The
criteria that will be used to assess applications for the Excellent rating are available from the ACECQA website
www.acecqa.gov.au.
Individual quality areas or standards may be rated as exceeding the National Quality Standard, regardless of the
overall service rating. Educators should be able to explain the areas that the service has performed well on, as
well as priorities for continuous improvement.
All education and care services will be assessed and rated by 2015 with ratings expected to be published in
2013. Services that have been rated will then be required to display their overall rating and rating for each quality
area at the entrance of the service. Once published, ratings will also appear on the MyChild website
www.mychild.gov.au.
How does continuous improvement work?
Each service is required to develop a quality improvement plan that is reviewed at least annually and that
identifies specific improvements for the service. Families of enrolled children may have opportunities to contribute
to the quality improvement plan for an education and care service.
Following an assessment visit, services receive an assessment report, a rating against each of the seven quality
areas and an overall rating. Assessment and rating reports provide services with a focus for continuous
improvement.
How continuous improvement works in education and care services
Self assessment against the National Quality Standard
Services are required to evaluate their education and care program, this may involve discussions and
consultation with families
Assessment and rating visit
Families are kept informed about their service’s progress towards meeting the National Quality Standard
Ongoing review of Quality Improvement Plan
The comprehensive report received following the assessment and rating visit will provide the service with
valuable information to consider in reviewing the Quality Improvement Plan
Development of Quality Improvement Plan
Services are encouraged to collaborate with families when developing their Quality Improvement Plan
Victorian children’s services
A number of services operate under the Victorian children’s services legislation (including all limited hours and
short term licensed services). A small number of other services that hold a standard licence include budgetbased services not funded for Child Care Benefit, occasional care, early childhood intervention, mobile services,
and several school holiday care programs.
These services must meet the requirements of the Victorian Children’s Services Act 1996 and the Victorian
Children’s Services Regulations 2009.
Victorian children’s services are monitored by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
The Department also investigates serious incidents or complaints about a service.
How will I know if a service is approved or licensed?
You can be sure if a service is approved or licensed as these services are required to display certain information
visible from the main entrance of the service.
For education and care services under the National Quality Framework, information on display will include:
•
the service approval including details of the provider of the service
•
the person who is responsible for the service that day
•
the service rating (if the service has been assessed and rated).
For Victorian children’s services operating under the Victorian Act and Victorian Regulations, information on
display will include:
•
the licence including details of the licensee
•
the hours and days of operation
•
an outline of the educational or recreational program provided by the service.
When you’re not sure whether a particular service should be approved
or licensed
The legal requirements for early childhood and school age care services can sometimes seem confusing and it’s
not always immediately clear whether or not a particular arrangement fits under the definition of an education and
care service operating under the National Quality Framework or a Victorian children’s service.
If you are not sure whether a particular service should be approved or licensed you should contact an authorised
officer at the nearest regional office of the Department. To find out more go to
www.education.vic.gov.au/childhood/providers/regulation.
For additional information related to non-approved or unlicensed care, please visit the website of the Office of the
Child Safety Commissioner at www.ocsc.vic.gov.au.
Further information
For further information about the National Quality Framework, including the assessment and rating process,
contact the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) or the Regulatory Authority for
Victoria (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development).
ACECQA can be contacted on 1800 181 088 or by email at enquiries@acecqa.gov.au.
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Quality Assessment and Regulation Division
can be contacted on 1300 307 415 or by email at: licensed.childrens.services@edumail.vic.gov.au.